15: Chapter 15 Green Snake's Evolution and Resurrection
Among them, the Green Water Snake King had the lowest potential, so he automatically gave up on it.
Then the Calamity Black Snake was too terrifying, like a damn pest of the Cultivation World, so he gave up on that too.
As for the choice between the Little Green Flood Dragon and the Resurrection Spirit Snake...
The Little Green Flood Dragon possessed the Dragon Bloodline, and its potential wasn't low.
As for the Resurrection Spirit Snake, it was a legendary spirit snake that had already gone extinct, making it hard to evaluate.
The description was likely a bit exaggerated.
Xu Qing didn't believe that a mere spirit snake could truly resurrect infinitely.
As for its flesh, it wasn't even a matter of whether it tasted good or not; it could revive the dead, regrow flesh on bones, and extend one's lifespan...
Would he be hunted down by every Cultivator in the Cultivation World in the future?
If he continued to evolve like this, his situation would be very dangerous.
When he met Madam Bai again, instead of him sucking up to Madam Bai, Madam Bai might just hold him and start gnawing.
Too dangerous.
"But the Resurrection skill..."
His Life-Bound Snake Scale hadn't recovered yet; if this snake really had a Resurrection skill...
"...Hmm..."
Xu Qing fell into hesitation.
Although he knew legends weren't always trustworthy, he couldn't resist how awesome the System's description was.
Flesh that could revive the dead and regrow flesh on bones—to put it another way...
Didn't that mean the Resurrection Green Snake's recovery ability was insane?
Even if it wasn't, if he got injured, he could just take a few bites of himself to recover.
A Perpetual Motion Snake!
He, Xu Qing, was willing to call it the Perpetual Motion Snake!
"System, evolve into the Perpetual Motion Snake!"
[Evolution path not detected]
"...Evolve into the Resurrection Spirit Snake."
[Ding, executing evolution command]
"This damn System has no sense of humor at all."
Green flowing light enveloped him.
The riverbed fell into silence; occasionally, a few fish would approach, but they would quickly swim away at top speed.
The evolution lasted for a full three days.
The green snake's body was now covered in a layer of mud, buried at the bottom of the river.
The green snake wriggled a few times, and the shed skin on its body shattered into pieces.
Perhaps in the future, some fish might accidentally eat the shed skin and become a Spirit Opening Demon Beast.
The green snake's appearance hadn't changed much, except that its body length had reached six meters.
The cracked scales on its forehead had half-recovered, and the fissures had become much shallower.
At the corners of its two large eyes, a deep green scale had appeared on each side, looking like beautiful eyeshadow.
At first glance, it looked like a large Green Water Snake, resembling a Green Water Snake King.
No one would suspect this was a Resurrection Spirit Snake, a species extinct in the Cultivation World.
"Let me see how powerful I've become."
Xu Qing opened his panel.
[Name] Xu Qing
[Race] Resurrection Green Snake
[Bloodline] Spirit Rank
[Adaptive Attributes] Wood, Wind, Water
[Dao Cultivation] 99 years / 100 years
[Rank] Qi Refining Ninth Layer
[Cultivation Technique] "White Flood Dragon Heart Art"
[Skills] Constrict lv3, Wind Blade lv3, Demonic Fire lv3, Detection lv3, Swiftness lv3, Poison Fangs lv2, Water Control lv2, Concealment lv2, Resurrection lv3, Snake Venom lv2, Poison Gas lv2, Self-Healing lv3, Self-Destruct lv1
Heal lv1 (Use after selecting a target; can Heal sustained injuries)
Resurrection lv1 (Can resurrect twice; each Resurrection will shatter one Resurrection Scale)
Plant Control lv1 (Consumes Demonic Power to control plants)
[Divine Ability] Insight lv4, Great Strength lv3, Water Healing lv2, Life Siphon lv1 (Kill lifeforms to seize their life force and repair Resurrection Scales)
[Spatial Pupil lv3] Spatial Storage lv3, Space Barrier lv3, Spatial Cleave lv3
[Evolution Bar] 0/500
[Evolution Path] Resurrection Snake King (A spirit snake, an extinct spirit snake, the king among Resurrection Green Snakes. Legend has it that it can resurrect even after death. Possesses Wood, Water, and Wind attributes. Said to have the power to bring the dead back to life. A complete snake corpse is of immeasurable value.)
[Description] A spirit snake, an extinct spirit snake. Legend has it that it can resurrect even after death. Wood, Water, and Wind attributes. Its flesh can revive the dead and regrow flesh on bones, extend lifespan, and is a top-tier material for making Spirit Medicine. Its bones, skin, and scales are top-tier Materials for Magical Artifacts. As a spirit pet, it can even influence the Luck of a sect.
[Foundation Establishment Breakthrough Probability] 80% → 100%
"It's true, I can really resurrect!"
Xu Qing circled excitedly at the bottom of the river.
His combat power hadn't increased much, but his survivability had improved significantly.
Resurrection lv1 had been upgraded to Resurrection lv3.
He gained new abilities: Self-Healing lv3 and Heal lv1.
Self-Destruct lv1 was a bit subtle, but combined with the Resurrection ability, it might have some interesting uses.
The new Divine Ability, Life Siphon lv1, could restore Resurrection Scales.
In other words, he had a stable way to resurrect.
No wonder legends said the Resurrection Spirit Snake could resurrect even after death.
However, increasing the proficiency of the Resurrection skill...
Xu Qing felt a chill run through his body.
The feeling of death was truly unpleasant; as a snake who had died once, Xu Qing absolutely, definitely did not want to experience it again.
That feeling of being swallowed by despair, sinking endlessly into the darkness, being assimilated and corroded by the dark...
"No wonder the Resurrection Spirit Snake went extinct..."
Looking at his newly acquired skills, Xu Qing wasn't surprised by the snake's extinction.
The newly added skills were basically all recovery skills, except for Self-Destruct...
And its body was so valuable.
Although it could resurrect and Heal rapidly, there was nothing it could do if it was killed again immediately after resurrecting.
Xu Qing swam from the riverbed toward the shore, feeling exceptionally confident with two extra lives.
He looked at his reflection in the water.
Still as handsome as ever; the scales at the corners of his eyes that looked like eyeshadow must be the Resurrection Scales.
Unlike the Life-Bound Snake Scale, the Resurrection Scales didn't buff his body or recovery abilities; they only provided the Resurrection effect.
"Hehe."
"While I'm in a good mood, I'll go kidnap that scholar and toss him into a fox den."
Xu Qing flicked his tongue happily and headed north.
Just thinking about that scholar made him angry; he had saved him, yet the scholar tried to harm him.
Back then, he was still very weak. If he hadn't relied on his sharp mind to escape, he might have ended up as snake soup.
As he got closer to the north, the Demonic Qi began to thin.
Inside the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the number of Yao Beasts was staggeringly high.
But outside the Monster Beast Mountain Range, it was hard to see even a single Spirit Opening Demon Beast.
Both sides seemed to follow some sort of treaty: Yao Beasts didn't leave the mountains, and humans didn't enter the Monster Beast Mountain Range.
However...
What did that have to do with Xu Qing?
He wasn't a local; why should he follow local treaties?
He slithered out of the Monster Beast Mountain Range with a clear conscience, activated his Concealment skill, and headed toward the human settlements without looking back.
After crawling for a long time, he finally saw a human village.
These were all familiar scents.
That's right, Xu Qing had firmly memorized the scent of every person who had come to catch him back then.
After becoming a snake, he was somewhat face-blind; he could only distinguish between human males and females by their clothing and body shape, making it hard to remember faces.
But he could remember scents very well.
"I smell it, I smell it!"
"It's that scholar's scent!"
Xu Qing excitedly slapped the ground with his tail, checked the time of day, and then retreated.
He planned to act under the cover of night.
Although he had the ability to kill all the villagers here, he didn't want to go on a killing spree.
Killing too many people might attract high-level Cultivators, which would be troublesome.
Night soon fell, and Xu Qing quietly infiltrated the village, releasing Poison Gas that covered the entire village.
Of course, he weakened the toxin; at this level, the Snake Venom would only make them fall into a deeper sleep.
He found the scholar's house, wrapped him up with his tail, and swam toward the outskirts of the village.
"Jie jie jie."
Returning to the Monster Beast Mountain Range, he found a fox den he had pre-selected and tossed the scholar inside.
"Phew, what a pleasant and fulfilling day."
Xu Qing flicked his tongue and slithered away happily in an S-shape.
Once the deed was done, he brushed off his scales and left, hiding his merit and fame.